Roseburg review. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, 1887-03-25
N4rIox4L tn ANKsaIrINo.

.
At n meeting held in Rochdale on
November "a, 1868, Mr.. John bright
closed remarkable speech in these
words:
And when this mortal strife is over; when
peace is restored, when slavery is destroyed,
when thei Union is cemented afresh, then
Europe and England may learn that an in
structei democracy is the surest foundation Of
government, and that education and freedom
re the only sources of true greatness and true
happiness among any people.
Thelssults prophesied by Mr. Bright
have been achieved, and both England
and the Continent acknowledge that
the success of democracy in America
renders it taoably difficult for monarchs
everywhere to control al unwilling
people Napoleon saw this state Of
affairs, and, with kind of second
sight, declared that in fifty years Eu-
rope wohld be either Cossack or repub-
lican.
We hive great cause for gratitude as
people, aad the President does well
TO remind our sixty millions of Their
privileges as nation and to ask them
to remember their duties as the arbiters
of the fate of the Republic. On this
national thanksgiving day we not only
find enjoyment in the bounties of the
banquet, but take pride in country
in which class distinctions have been
uprooteJ, and "A railsplitter OF tanner,
if ne has the mettle, may reach the
highest position III the peoples gift.
We have proved ourselves, in the
phrase Of Milton, "a noble and puissant
nation" And ore of our pecuiaritics
is that our future seems dazzling ever
to the point of danger Such growtl
as ours is startling and beyond th'
reach of figures to represent. I.i:tl,
more than a generation ago pur tota
wealth was about one-third Of that o
the United Kingdom of Gr>at Britain
In single generation, 50 swift hav
been our industrial gains, we surpas
the total wealth Of the United King
dom by thousands Of millions IN les
than two generations we have rusEer
from population Of fifteen millions t.
sixty millions strong, while the cllcu
Iations of increase during the next fift,
years are almost appalling,
In spite of the vast numbers whicl
have fled from the harsher life an,
the restricted opportunities of Europ
we are homogeneous people. Hun
dreds of thousands are easily digeste
and become constituent elements O
the body polite. They not only foo
our cities, which is the worst featur
of immigration, but they settle on th
lands Of the great West and absorb a
once the spirit of our institutions |
they bring their socialism with ther
it oozes out of their finger tips whe
they swing the axe to clear the groun
for a farm. Our broad acres are on
security There IS no need to thro'
a bomb in order to get fair play, fc
if one is discontented in the city he ca
have land in plenty, more than he ca
cultivate, for the mere asking. Th
man, therefore, who uses gunpowde
or incites to riot is fool who forget
that this is America, not Europe, an
that there is nothing to hinder ind
pendence il lie is willing to pay IL
price of honest toll
We have, then, every reason to |
grateful as a people No pestilent
sweeps our borders, leaving its trail
graves behind. The business Of ii
country is on the flood, and the peric
of extreme depression is over Indu
tries are being developed througho,
the. South and sectional distrust h;
given place to generous rivalry
the race for wealth. No DANCE
social or political, turks In any corn
In any corner of the Republic "
are at peace among ourselves and wi
the world.
The Herald hopes that the ubiqi
tous turkey will achieve its mantle
destiny today, and that every 20
man in the country will have one.